WASHINGTON — Hackers infiltrated the European Union’s diplomatic communications network for years, downloading thousands of cables that reveal concerns about an unpredictable Trump administration and struggles to deal with Russia, China and the risk that Iran would revive its nuclear program. In one cable, European diplomats described a meeting between President Trump and President Vladimir […]

One of the more contentious issues involving Israel in recent years is now before Congress, testing America’s bedrock principles of freedom of speech and political dissent. It is a legislative proposal that would impose civil and criminal penalties on American companies and organizations that participate in boycotts supporting Palestinian rights and opposing Israel’s occupation of […]

Promise me something: Over the coming weeks, whenever you hear a pundit or read a poll on the subject of who the 2020 Democratic nominee might be, you’ll flash back four years. You’ll remember predictions about the Republican nominee at this same point before the 2016 election. Republicans then were in a situation similar to […]

WASHINGTON — Unveiling a report commissioned by President Trump in the aftermath of a mass shooting last winter at a Florida high school, administration officials on Tuesday played down the role of guns in school violence while focusing instead on rescinding Obama-era disciplinary policies, improving mental health services and training school personnel in the use […]

The Russian trolls have been really good customers of Facebook, Google and Twitter. That’s the key takeaway from reports released this week by the Senate Intelligence Committee on efforts by the Russian agents to spread fake stories and discourage Americans from voting. Let’s be dead clear: Purveyors of propaganda used these powerful platforms exactly as […]

WASHINGTON — Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona on Tuesday appointed Representative Martha McSally to the Senate seat previously held by John McCain, bowing to the preferences of Washington Republicans despite his own misgivings about Ms. McSally’s lackluster Senate campaign this year. Mr. Ducey, who easily won re-election last month as Ms. McSally was defeated in […]

WASHINGTON — The White House signaled on Tuesday that President Trump is backing down on his demand for $5 billion from Congress for a wall at the southern border, easing fears of a Christmas government shutdown that would begin at midnight Friday. Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, said on Fox News that because […]

Despite major defeats in 2018, President Trump and his Republican supporters are still screaming about so-called border security, demonizing migrants, unleashing tear gas on asylum-seekers and demanding billions in taxpayer money for a wall. It’s as though Mr. Trump continues to see himself descending that escalator in 2015 to bash Mexican immigrants. In 2018, this […]

Gail Collins: Bret, I feel sort of obliged to ask you about the looming government shutdown. But I will totally forgive you if your eyes glaze over. Bret Stephens: I think it’s safe to say that nobody ever tried “How do you feel about the looming government shutdown?” as a pickup line. Gail: I dunno. […]

In the wake of the 2016 election, Instagram — known as the home of preening influencers, artfully arranged grain bowls and Icelandic vacation photos — somehow escaped much of the scrutiny of other social networks. But two new reports suggest that may have been a mistake. The reports, conducted by independent groups and released by […]

WASHINGTON — Call it the deep-state defense. After the Pentagon stripped an official’s security clearance for reading a top-secret paper in public, his allies said he was “caught in the web of the deep state.” When federal agents raided the home of a government contractor suspected of taking classified documents, his supporters denounced the “deep […]

WASHINGTON — An F.B.I. document released late Monday provides new details of how Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s first national security adviser, lied to federal investigators about his conversations with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition. Prosecutors filed the document — an account by F.B.I. agents of their Jan. 24, 2017, interview with Mr. […]

WASHINGTON — California and 15 other states asked a federal judge on Monday to protect current health care coverage for millions of Americans while courts sort out the implications of his ruling that the Affordable Care Act was invalid in its entirety. The states, which support the health care law, said the ruling on Friday, […]

This year, researchers at Ohio State University tried to measure the impact that fake news had on the 2016 election. They based their analysis on a postelection survey in which they’d asked voters 281 questions, three of which were intended to determine their exposure to online disinformation. Respondents were asked to rate the accuracy of […]

When Russia targets Americans on social media, it has political goals: in 2016, to damage Hillary Clinton and help elect Donald J. Trump; since then, to press Russian views on issues like the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine; and in the future — who knows? To wield influence, Russian online operators must first build an […]

WASHINGTON — Just days away from a partial government shutdown, lawmakers are weighing adding a contentious measure to a stymied spending package that would keep American companies from participating in boycotts — primarily against Israel — that are being carried out by international organizations. Critics of the legislation, including the American Civil Liberties Union and […]

WASHINGTON — President Trump renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve on Monday in a tweet expressing incredulity that the Fed continues to raise interest rates. While his outbursts have drawn widespread criticism for being impolitic, a growing number of experts think the president has a point. As the Fed drives up borrowing costs, there […]

The midterm elections were, to an important extent, a referendum on the Affordable Care Act; health care, not Donald Trump, dominated Democratic campaigning. And voters delivered a clear verdict: They want Obamacare’s achievements, the way it expanded coverage to roughly 20 million people who would otherwise have been uninsured, to be sustained. But on Friday, […]

Hi. Welcome to On Politics, your guide to the day in national politics. I’m Lisa Lerer, your host. For eight years, Republicans dreamed of repealing the Affordable Care Act. Now, they’re finding that eliminating the health care law may actually be more like their version of the nightmare before Christmas. A ruling Friday by a […]

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is planning to roll back Obama-era policies aimed at ensuring that minority children are not unfairly disciplined, arguing that the efforts have eased up on punishment and contributed to rising violence in the nation’s schools, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. The decision culminates a nearly yearlong […]